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Pandas/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, is at his computer and calls to a robot, Moby. TIM: Hey, Moby, check this out! You can see a real live panda on this web cam! Tim is viewing a panda cam Moby comes over. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know, they're really cute. What is it about pandas being so adorable? Moby hands Tim a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I've heard that a panda bear isn't really a bear. Is it? From, Liana. TIM: Hey, Liana. Yes, giant pandas are really bears. They belong to the bear family, Ursidae, which includes pretty much any bear you can think of: brown bears, sun bears, polar bears, grizzly bears. You name it. Images show the bears Tim names. TIM: For a while, scientists thought pandas might be more related to raccoons, but recent genetic evidence has shown that they are, indeed, bears. An image shows a panda bear join the other bears. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, giant pandas are native to China. But their natural forest habitat is being destroyed, mostly by people who are cutting it down for wood and for development. So, there's just a very small range for wild pandas to call home anymore. A map shows China. The pandas' shrinking habitat is shown inside of China. TIM: Giant pandas also have a pretty low birth rate, so there aren't many of them in the world at all. Only about two thousand live in the wild, and another two hundred or so live in zoos or animal research centers. Side by side images show a panda in the wild and a panda in the zoo. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, that makes their species endangered, or in danger of completely dying out. The word "Endangered!" is stamped over the images of the pandas. TIM: Because of that, a pretty serious effort to breed giant pandas has been going on for some time in China, the U.S., and other countries like Japan, Mexico, and Germany. A world map shows pandas appearing in the countries Tim names. TIM: It took a while for panda researchers to learn how to help them reproduce and to have the panda cubs survive to adulthood. An image shows a panda looking at researchers. TIM: Today, panda breeding programs have gotten a lot better; baby pandas are much more likely to survive in zoos, with a little help from people. An image shows a zoo worker holding a panda cub. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, things like making sure they have the right food. Like other bears, pandas can eat meat, but their diet is pretty much vegetarian. Their favorite meal is bamboo, a woody plant with thin shoots and green leaves. An image shows a bamboo plant. TIM: They need a lot of it, so pandas usually spend at least twelve hours a day munching away. An animation shows a panda eating bamboo. TIM: Humans can also give newborn pandas a major helping hand. Like, if twins are born, the mom will only take care of one cub. In the wild, the other baby would die, but in zoos, humans can help both cubs make it. An image shows a panda baby drinking from a bottle. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, pandas start out life pretty small; they're tiny pink things, no bigger than a stick of butter. An image shows a baby panda. TIM: At about two months old they've grown black and white and fuzzy, and basically impossible to resist. An image shows a panda cub. TIM: Panda cubs stay close to their moms at first, but eventually go out and explore. Young pandas love to climb. An animation shows a panda club climbing up a tree trunk. TIM: During the first couple of years their bones are not totally hardened yet, so they're able to survive falls, even from really high up in a tree. An animation shows the panda cub falling from the tree. It gets right up, uninjured. TIM: When fully grown, pandas weigh up to one hundred thirty kilograms, or about three hundred pounds. A panda stands on a scale that reads 130 kilograms. TIM: They're pretty solitary animals in the wild; that means they spend a lot of their time alone. In their natural habitat they can live to be about twenty years old; in captivity they can live to around thirty. An image shows a panda at its Happy Birthday party standing in front of its birthday cake. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, it's a major undertaking to have a panda, not just anyone can do it. For starters, it costs about two and a half million dollars every year to keep a panda in a zoo. Much of that is paid back to the pandas' Chinese owners, who put the money toward things like conservation and research. An image shows stacks of money and the text reads "Two point five million dollars" MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh yeah, giant pandas are traditionally all Chinese, and named with Chinese names, no matter where they live or where they're born. These guys are called Mei Xiang and Tai Shan. The panda cam shows the two pandas. MOBY: Beep. Moby points to the computer screen. TIM: But, Moby, like I said, you can't just go out and buy your own panda. MOBY: Beep. TIM: You know, pouting isn't going to help. It's just not going to happen, no matter how much you want one. Moby looks at the panda cam on the computer screen and then hugs the monitor.Category:BrainPOP Transcripts